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Doris (3×4)
}} The Doris (ドリス) The camera is called "Baby Doris (horizontal)" or "Baby Doris (horizontal format)" in , item 1038, and , p.803, but the name used in the original documents is "Doris" or "Doris Camera". is a Japanese 3×4 folding camera, distributed from 1939 to 1941 by Fukada Shōkai. Dates: advertisements and articles listed in , p.338. General description The Doris is a strut-folder: the lens and shutter assembly is mounted on a square metal plate, supported by scissor struts placed on both sides. There is a tubular viewfinder above the middle of the top plate. There is a button on the right of the viewfinder; it looks like a shutter release but actually releases the lens board which pops out into shooting position. The back is hinged to the right and opened by a sliding button on the left. It contains two red windows, protected by a pivoting common cover. Minor variations are known, notably in the position of the advance knob; these are discussed in the next sections. All the versions have a front-cell focusing lens and an everset shutter. Commercial life The Doris was advertised in Japanese magazines from August 1939. , p.338. The October 1939 advertisement in says that the camera is a new model and lists three versions priced at ¥43, ¥48 and ¥58, but there is no description and no picture. Advertisement reproduced in , p.91. According to later documents, these versions correspond to the following lens and shutter combinations, in increasing price order: Column in May 1940, pp.831–2. * Doris Anastigmat 50/4.5 lens, Doris shutter (25, 50, 100, T, B); * U.L.L. Anastigmat 50/4.5 lens, Kerio shutter (25, 50, 100, 150, T, B); * U.L.L. Anastigmat 50/4.5 lens, Selon II shutter (5, 10, 25, 100, 250, T, B). In February 1940, the camera is reportedly advertised with the U.L.L. and Kerio combination. Advertisements in the April and May 1940 issues of the same magazine, reproduced above, only list the other two versions: Doris / Doris at and U.L.L. / Selon II at . Advertisements in April 1940, p.A56, and May 1940, p.A29. That dated April is reproduced in , p.80. The case is offered for extra ¥6. The illustration shows a camera with the advance knob at the top right, as seen by the photographer, a small lens board release at the top, and a Selon shutter, marked SELON at the top of the front plate. The Doris is also featured in the new products column of the May 1940 issue, reproduced below. Column in May 1940, pp.831–2. The long delay between the initial advertisement in August 1939 and this news announcement is unexplained. The document gives a description of the camera, and lists the three versions already mentioned. In the August 1940 advertisement in , the range is as follows, with a new f/3.5 option at the top and no Kerio version: Advertisement reproduced in , p.80. * Doris Anastigmat 50/4.5 lens, Doris shutter (25, 50, 100, T, B), ; * U.L.L. Anastigmat 50/4.5 lens, Selon The shutter name is given as "Selon shutter" (セロンシヤター), with no mention of model II. shutter (5, 10, 25, 100, 250, T, B), . * U.L.L. Anastigmat 50/3.5 lens, same shutter ( ). The official list of set prices compiled in October 1940 and published in January 1941 has various Doris models, called "Doris I" (¥44), "Doris II" (¥60), "Doris III" (¥50) and "Doris IV" (¥68) with no further detail. , compiled on October 25, 1940 and published in January 1941, type 1, sections 4A, 5, 6A, 8A. These certainly correspond to the four lens and shutter combinations described above. The advertisement in April 1941, reproduced above, lists the same versions as in August 1940, but the Doris shutter now has an additional 1/150 speed setting, and the price for that version was raised to . Advertisement in April 1941, p.633. The Doris was advertised in Japanese photography magazines until May 1941. Its successor was the Baby Doris, a 3×4cm vertical folder also distributed by Fukada Shōkai. Actual examples Only a few actual examples of the Doris have been observed so far. All have the advance knob at the top left, the reverse of the advertising illustration. At least three cameras are known with the Doris Anastigmat 50mm f/4.5 lens and Doris shutter to 1/150. Examples pictured in this page, in , item 1038, in this page of the AJCC. The name DORIS is inscribed at the top of the shutter plate, and the speed settings are actually engraved in the order 150, 100, 50, 25, B, T. These three examples show minor variations. The camera pictured in is presumably earlier, with a chrome-finished lens board and a small button at the top, similar to that visible in the advertisements. The example pictured in this page has a black lens board with a larger release button. The example this page pictured in the AJCC website is probably later. It has the large release button, black crinkle paint on the lens board, a different advance knob with two rows of mills, and a slightly lower film flange at the other end. A further camera has been observed with a Kerio shutter (T, B, 150–25), marked KERIO at the top of the front plate, and a Ukas Anastigmat 50mm f/3.5 lens. Example observed in an online auction, with Ukas lens no.51104. However, the diaphragm scale on that particular camera runs from 4.5 to 18, and it is likely that the Ukas lens is not original. Manufacturer The manufacturer of the Doris is not known for sure. In the advertisements observed, the camera is presented as a "sister of the Semi Prince" ("セミプリンスの姉妹品"), but it is not explicitly attributed to any specific company. Some sources attribute the camera to "Prince Camera Works", , item 1038; , p.803. but this was not the name of any actual company, only a dummy name used for promotional purpose (see Camera Works). Moreover, this name is not associated to the Doris in any of the original documents seen so far. The "Doris" name might be related to the name of Mr. Motodori, founder of the Motodori company. At least this was the case for the postwar Doris cameras made by Tōkyō Seiki and later Doris Camera (successors of the Motodori company). Niimi, p. 92. The April 1943 government inquiry on Japanese camera production mentions a Doris camera made by Shinkō, certainly corresponding to the later Baby Doris. , items 170–1. On that camera, the shape of the main body is similar to that of the original strut-folding Doris, and this perhaps indicates that the two models were made by the same manufacturer. Notes Bibliography Original documents * May 1940. "Atarashii kikai to zairyō" (新しい機械と材料, New equipment and machinery). Pp.831–2. * . Advertisements by Fukada Shōkai: ** April 1940, p.A56; ** May 1940, p.A29; ** April 1941, p.633. * Type 1, sections 4A, 5, 6A and 8A. Recent sources * Item 155. (See also the advertisement for items 230–1.) * P.803. * Niimi Kahee (新見嘉兵衛). Kamera-mei no gogen sanpo (カメラ名の語源散歩, Strolls in the etymology of camera names). 2nd ed. Tokyo: Shashin Kōgyō Shuppansha, 2002. ISBN 4-87956-060-X * Item 1038. Links * Doris at the AJCC Category: Japanese 3x4 viewfinder folding Category: 3x4 strut folding Category: D Category: 1939